Sei Investments Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Sei Investments Co. cut its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 61.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,351 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,716 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,172 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,709,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2,583.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 805 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at $2,376,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 300.0% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wedbush cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,012.11.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,827.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.82. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,274.91 and a one year high of $2,174.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,953.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,778.01.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $52.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts.